Be safe! Five impor­tant things to do before launch­ing your boat this spring.

It’s final­ly boat­ing sea­son on the beau­ti­ful lakes and water­ways of Lake Coun­ty. Make sure it’s a safe one. Before you launch your boat for the first time, check these five vital ele­ments to ensure that your boat is tru­ly good to go:

Inspect your trail­er. How are the tires? Are the tie-down straps show­ing wear? Test out the brake and oth­er lighting.

Is your drain plug installed? You may think it’s a no-brain­er, but check it just the same.

Check all flu­ids, and top-off or change as need­ed. That includes pow­er steer­ing flu­id, gear lube, oil and coolant.

What’s the con­di­tion of your bat­tery? How well does it hold a charge? As a rule of thumb, your bat­tery should be replaced every 2 – 3 years depend­ing on use, no mat­ter what its condition.

Are all your gauges and instru­ment lights work­ing? Check them: fuel, trim, bilge and any oth­ers. And while you’re at it, check to see if all your nav­i­ga­tion lights light up.

Bonus item! Make sure all of your safe­ty equip­ment is on board and in good repair. That includes: dis­tress sig­nals and horn, life jack­ets and whis­tles (1 for each pas­sen­ger), first aid kit, weath­er radio, flash­light, fire extin­guish­er and extra bat­ter­ies for devices.